Eric Sloane

Eric Sloane made two things his own: the American sky — he painted clouds with a meteorologist’s knowledge and hung a mural of them at the Smithsonian’s air museum — and the vanishing countryside of barns, covered bridges, and stone walls that his best-selling books lovingly documented. Few American artists are collected with more plain affection.

Revere Auctions provides free auction estimates for Sloane’s work: send photographs of the front, back, and signature and our specialists will respond with an honest valuation.

Who Was Eric Sloane?

Sloane was born Everard Hinrichs in New York in 1905 and renamed himself as a young man — the “Sloane” borrowed, he liked to say, from teacher John Sloan’s name with an added letter. He apprenticed as a sign painter, studied at the Art Students League, and spent restless years lettering and painting his way across the country.

Aviation gave him his first fame: hanging around Long Island’s airfields he painted aircraft and, above all, the sky itself, selling early cloudscapes to fliers — Amelia Earhart bought one. He studied meteorology seriously, wrote illustrated books about weather, and painted the “cloudscape” for the rest of his life.

From the 1950s, settled in Connecticut, he became the great documenter of early American rural life: books on barns, tools, bridges, and almanac wisdom, illustrated with his pen and paralleled in oils. He died in New York in 1985, on his way to a birthday celebration, with a museum of his tool collection already established in Kent, Connecticut.

What Did Eric Sloane Paint?

The classic Sloanes are oils of weathered barns and covered bridges under enormous skies, and pure cloudscapes where the land is a strip and the cumulus is the subject. He worked in oil on masonite panels typically, with a draftsman’s structure under fluent paint.

His books — dozens of them, still in print — circulate everywhere and feed the market for the paintings; original book illustrations and drawings form an accessible collecting entry point.

How Much Is My Eric Sloane Painting Worth?

Several things determine what a work by Eric Sloane brings at auction:

• Subject — barns and covered bridges with strong skies are the signature; pure cloudscapes have their own following, sharpened by the Smithsonian mural fame
• Size — large panels command real premiums over the many small ones
• Quality within the run — he was prolific — examples with fully realized skies stand well above routine ones
• Condition — masonite panels are sturdy but chip at edges; clean surfaces are rewarded
• Signature — usually “Eric Sloane” with his characteristic block lettering, often with N.A. after his Academy election

The honest answer is that no two are alike, and the difference between an ordinary example and an exceptional one is a conversation with a specialist, not a chart. Send us photographs through our free auction estimate form — front, back, signature, and any labels — and we will tell you what you have.

The Market for Eric Sloane

Sloane trades steadily at auction, typically in the four figures, with large or exceptional panels reaching five figures in recent years. His audience is broad — Americana collectors, aviation people, New Englanders, and readers of his books who graduate to the oils.

A specialist estimate sizes your painting against that active, well-documented market at no charge.

How to Sell a Work by Eric Sloane

The strongest results for an Eric Sloane painting come at auction, where national and international collectors bid against each other. Revere Auctions offers free, no-obligation auction estimates: send photos and dimensions and our specialists respond with a current market valuation and a recommendation on how to sell. Consigned works are professionally photographed, cataloged, and marketed through our fine art auctions to a worldwide bidder base, and we regularly arrange shipping for consignors across the country. If you need a formal written valuation for insurance or estate purposes, our appraisal and valuation services team can help; you can also read more about how selling at auction works.

Related: American & Western paintings, our fine art department, appraisal services, free auction estimates.

Reviewed by the fine art specialists at Revere Auctions, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Eric Sloane: Frequently Asked Questions

How much is an Eric Sloane painting worth?

Typically four figures at auction, with large or exceptional barn, bridge, and cloudscape panels reaching five figures. Size and the quality of the sky drive the range. Revere Auctions provides free auction estimates.

What is Eric Sloane famous for?

Cloudscapes painted with real meteorological knowledge — including the mural at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum — and oils and best-selling illustrated books preserving early American barns, bridges, and tools.

Was Eric Sloane his real name?

He was born Everard Hinrichs and adopted the name as a young artist. Works signed Eric Sloane, often with N.A. appended after his National Academy election, are the standard form.

Where can I sell an Eric Sloane painting?

At auction with a house that reaches Americana collectors nationally. Revere Auctions offers free estimates and formal appraisals.

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